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SHAPE

The STOP HIV/AIDS Program Evaluation (SHAPE) Study aims to find out more about what factors influence people’s decisions and attitudes toward accessing HIV health care and what factors help people to stay in care. It is a project funded by the BC Ministry of Health and is led by the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS with the help of many collaborators and Co-Investigators.

Participation in the study involves filling out a baseline survey and two follow-up surveys, 18 months apart, after the completion of the previous survey. The surveys will assess the treatment behaviours, beliefs, and attitudes concerning HIV testing, health care, and HAART initiation and adherence.

Specific objectives of the SHAPE Study are:

To monitor the proportion of key groups (youth, IDU, Aboriginal people and women) who are at different levels of the cascade of care (receiving care, on ART, adherent, virologically suppressed) when there is expanded testing and treatment throughout the province;

To identify factors associated with progression along the cascade of care;

To determine the role of HIV-related care (routine access to care, physician experience, physical and social barriers to care) on individual’s experiences in the cascade of care.

To assess the impact of exposure to the STOP HIV/AIDS initiative among individuals who are HIV positive in BC.

To assess the beliefs, attitudes and behaviours associated with HIV care and ART among HIV-positive individuals in BC and how this impacts their experience in the cascade of care.

As of September 2018, the SHAPE study is no longer looking for new participants. However, if you have already participated in SHAPE you may be due for an 18-month follow-up survey.